Free No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole Page A

like this?”
    “Oh, no, he didn’t.”
    “He did!”
    She quirked an eyebrow at Sebastian, then parted her red lips to give a casual hiss in the direction of the log. They fell silent instantly.
    Down in the gallery, the nymphlike women smirked and whispered about Kaderin “slumming” with a vampire, “just like her sister.”
    Kaderin’s dark eyes widened as if she were amazed by their temerity. She feinted as though she was about to jump down, and they fled back into the oaks.
    Sebastian’s attention returned to focus on Kaderin—
    There was no time even to tense for the attack.
    9
    Bowen lunged from the shadows, barreling into the vampire. As Kaderin watched his furious charge, she only wondered why it had taken Bowen so long to attack, since the Lykae were at war with the vampires. Maybe Sebastian’s clear eyes had thrown him, or perhaps the fact that Sebastian didn’t smell like blood and death had confused Bowen.
    In a tangle of flying fists and claws, they both slammed into a wall, shaking the solid marble temple all around them. A crack surfaced in the dome’s skylight.
    Sebastian shoved Bowen off and lunged for his throat with one hand. His other was a fist shooting out. Bowen hit at the same time—they smashed each other’s face.
    Kaderin didn’t see this winding down anytime soon. They were attractive, well-built warriors—there were worse things to watch.
    She settled in, expecting to observe with typical cool dispassion.
    Punishing blows continued to connect from each. Sebastian was somehow holding his own with Bowen. The gallery was abuzz with surprise. True, Bowen looked as if he’d lost a stone of weight since the last time she’d seen him, but still…
    Merely shaking off a Lykae’s punch to the jaw was unheard of.
    They crashed over the railing just in front of Kaderin’s seat, plummeting to the ground below. Sebastian didn’t trace, instead taking the impact. He was fighting a member of the most physically powerful species in the Lore, and if he didn’t start sparing himself these blows, Bowen would easily kill him.
    On their feet again, they circled, eyeing each other for weaknesses, striking out in intervals. Yes, Sebastian was taking the crushing blows, but he seemed to be ambidextrous, hitting as squarely with his left fist as his right, cleverly aiming and spacing his own as well.
    Bowen had his deadly claws and speed, but Sebastian was skilled. Very skilled, she determined, and he wasn’t even using his key advantage.
    His lips were drawn back from his fangs in fury. His irises turned black, and his body tensed, seeming to grow even larger.
    Immortal male… powerful male… She caught herself leaning forward.
    He was stronger than she’d ever imagined. Which meant he was more attractive than she’d ever feared.
    An image flashed in her mind of his massive body covering hers that morning. How tightly his strong arms had wrapped around her as he rocked his hips into her…
    She shivered and stared down in puzzlement when gooseflesh rose on her arms. That’s new.
    Bowen lashed out with his flared claws. Sebastian leapt back; Bowen’s claws rent through the thick marble column as easily as through talc. Sebastian’s fist shot out, breaking Bowen’s nose, just as Bowen slashed with his other hand.
    He carved four deep furrows in Sebastian’s torso. Blood poured from both warriors.
    Murmurs began in the gallery:
    “They desecrate Riora’s sacred temple! She will be enraged.”
    “Oh, gods, look at the marble. We are all beyond doomed.”
    “Somebody put a plant in front of it!”
    Kaderin sighed. And this was the world she belonged to.
    Soon louder protests sounded. Riora was a diva who made Mariah Carey look meek. Taking away the competition for spite wouldn’t be beyond her.
    One of the new competitors asked, “But who could possibly break up a fight between a Lykae and a vampire?”
    All eyes fell on Kaderin.
    “The witch could do it.” Kaderin’s tone was